use erase() instead of clear() in per-keystroke TUI redraw loops

clear() forces a full physical screen repaint on the next refresh();
erase() just blanks the buffer content and lets curses diff against
what's already on the terminal, sending only the changed cells. The
main cert list and the cert-entry form both redraw on every keystroke,
so clear() there meant retransmitting the whole screen on every arrow
key / typed character — slow and flickery over a low-bandwidth link
like a serial console.

One-shot dialogs (show_confirm, _msg, _error) draw once and don't
loop-redraw, so they keep clear() as-is — no benefit to changing them
and it's one less thing to get wrong.

Also handle curses.KEY_RESIZE explicitly in the main list loop: force
one real clear() right after a detected resize, since erase()'s diff
against the pre-resize screen model isn't reliable across a genuine
dimension change. Screen-size changes were already picked up on the
next redraw before this (draw() runs unconditionally every loop
iteration), this just guarantees a clean repaint at the moment of the
actual resize instead of trusting the diff engine through it.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Vlad Doloman
2026-07-08 17:45:13 +03:00
parent 92d512f0d2
commit 2640dbf81d
3 changed files with 48 additions and 2 deletions

View File

@@ -749,7 +749,7 @@ def show_cert_form(
curses.curs_set(1)
while True:
win.clear()
win.erase() # see show_main_screen's draw() for why not clear()
draw_box(win, "Certificate Details")
for name in _FORM_FIELDS:
fy = _FORM_FIELD_Y[name]
@@ -897,7 +897,11 @@ def show_main_screen(
def menu_item(idx): return _MENU_ITEMS[idx - n_certs] if idx >= n_certs else None
def draw():
stdscr.clear()
# erase() (not clear()) so refresh() only transmits the cells that
# actually changed instead of repainting the whole screen on every
# keystroke — clear() forces a full repaint and is slow/flickery
# over a low-bandwidth link like a serial console.
stdscr.erase()
sh, sw = stdscr.getmaxyx()
# Header bar — shows current filter mode
@@ -967,6 +971,13 @@ def show_main_screen(
draw()
key = stdscr.getch()
if key == curses.KEY_RESIZE:
# Force one true full repaint on the actual new dimensions —
# erase()+refresh() diffs against the pre-resize screen model,
# which isn't reliable across a genuine size change.
stdscr.clear()
continue
if key == 27: # Esc
if esc_pending:
return ScreenResult(action=Action.EXIT)

View File

@@ -102,6 +102,18 @@ def test_show_cert_form_cancel():
assert result.confirmed is False
def test_show_cert_form_uses_erase_not_clear():
# clear() forces a full-screen repaint on every refresh(); the form
# redraws on every keystroke, so it must use erase() instead.
stdscr = _make_stdscr()
win = _make_win(rows=20, cols=70)
win.getch.side_effect = [9, 27] # Tab, then Escape
with patch("curses.newwin", return_value=win):
show_cert_form(stdscr, cn="alice", email="alice@example.com")
assert win.erase.called
assert not win.clear.called
def test_show_cert_form_confirm():
"""Enter advances through the 3 fields to the Continue button; Enter on
Continue confirms. That's 4 Enter keypresses total."""

View File

@@ -103,6 +103,29 @@ def test_q_exits():
assert result.selected_cns == []
def test_draw_uses_erase_not_clear():
# clear() forces a full-screen repaint on every refresh(); erase() lets
# curses diff against the previous frame instead — important over a
# low-bandwidth link like a serial console.
stdscr = _make_stdscr()
stdscr.getch.side_effect = [ord("q")]
with patch("openvpncertupdate.init_colors"):
show_main_screen(stdscr, _CERTS)
assert stdscr.erase.called
assert not stdscr.clear.called
def test_key_resize_forces_one_full_clear():
# A genuine terminal resize should force one true full repaint rather
# than relying on erase()'s diff against pre-resize screen contents.
stdscr = _make_stdscr()
stdscr.getch.side_effect = [_curses.KEY_RESIZE, ord("q")]
with patch("openvpncertupdate.init_colors"):
show_main_screen(stdscr, _CERTS)
assert stdscr.clear.call_count == 1
assert stdscr.erase.call_count == 2 # once before the resize key, once after
def test_capital_Q_exits():
result = _run([ord("Q")])
assert result.action == Action.EXIT